New car registrations in the European Union (EU) declined by 3% in February 2025, year-to-date (YTD) compared with the same period in 2024.
On a year-on-year (YOY) basis, EU registrations declined by 3.4%.
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The decrease in registrations was observed across several of the bloc’s key markets, including Italy, Germany, and France, while Spain experienced an increase.
Italy saw a 6% decline in new car registrations, with Germany and France recording decreases of 4.6% and 3.3%, respectively. In contrast, Spain registered an 8.4% increase.
Battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for 15.2% of the total EU market share, up from 11.5% in the same period in 2024.
Hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) captured 35.2% of the market, maintaining their status as the preferred choice among EU consumers.
The combined market share of petrol and diesel cars fell to 38.8%, down from 48.5% in the same period in 2024. Meanwhile, new BEV sales grew by 28.4%, reaching 255,489 units.
Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands, which account for 64% of all BEV registrations, saw double-digit gains, with Germany at 41%, Belgium at 38%, and the Netherlands at 25%.
France, however, experienced a slight decline of 1.3% in BEV registrations.
In February 2025 YTD, hybrid-electric car registrations rose by 18.7%, driven by growth in France, Spain, Italy, and Germany.
France led the increase with a 51.4% rise, followed by Spain at 31.5%, Italy at 10.4%, and Germany at 9.8%, resulting in 594,059 units registered.
Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle registrations fell by 5% in January–February 2025, driven by sharp declines of 65.3% in Belgium and 49.3% in France.
As a result, plug-in-hybrids now represent 7.4% of total car registrations in the EU.
The February 2025 YOY variation showed a rise of 23.7% for battery-electric and 19% for hybrid-electric cars.
Petrol car registrations dropped by 20.5% by February 2025 YTD, with France experiencing the steepest decline at 27.5%. Germany, Italy, and Spain also saw decreases.
Petrol’s market share fell to 29.1%, down from 35.5% last year. Diesel car registrations declined by 28%, resulting in a 9.7% market share.
The February 2025 YOY variation showed a decline of 22.4% for petrol and 28.8% for diesel. In January, new car registrations in the EU fell by 2.6% compared with the same period last year.
